Jade Jenise Dixon’s directorial debut out on DVD

Like an outrageous cross between The Best Man and Waiting to Exhale, Truth Hall is a daring melodrama revolving around the very eventful reunion of five best friends who had been inseparable in college when they pledged the same sorority and lived in the same dorm, Truth Hall. Now, this once tight-knit quintet of accomplished and attractive black women is getting back together for the wedding of one of their sorors. However, as soon as they assemble in L.A., skeletons start popping out of the closet which threaten to rip their cohesion to shreds. Amber (Tamara ‘Gingir’ Curry) admits to being HIV+, yet that’s not stopping her from flirting with guys who have no idea of her medical status. Colette (Nicole Prescott) has come down with a dose of Jungle Fever, and is tempted to get her groove back with a 22 year-old, white bartender serving her a drink soon after arriving.

Not to be outdone is Lashon (Karimah Westbrook) who has been carrying on a clandestine affair with Brandon (Nicholas Demps), the blushing bride-to-be’s (Celeste A. Sullivan) cheating fiance. Finally, there’s Jazae (Jade Jenise Dixon), a lesbian who seduces another bridesmaid right before the wedding so they both ending up missing the ceremony entirely.

Truth Hall marks the writing/directorial debut of Jade Jenise Dixon who certainly knows how to keep an audience entertained. For, she has her over-the-top soap opera serving up another shocking revelation ever five minutes or so. The problem is that she never gives you much of a chance to digest what you’ve just heard, before she drops the next preposterous bombshell.

Another flaw is that four of the actresses spend much of the film wearing the identical bridesmaid’s dress, which makes it difficult at times to keep the characters straight. Nonetheless, I give Ms. Dixon credit for tackling the taboo subject of AIDS in a serious manner, a reminder that the disease continues to run rampant in the African-American community.

Truth Hall? “Rude Awakening Reception” might have made a better title for this tragicomic reunion where nobody’s really well-equipped to handle the truth.

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